Shell high trimming attachment



Dec. 11, 1956 R. J. MACK SHELL HIGH TRIMMING ATTACHMENT Filed July 21, 1952 z; 22 2/ Aw/m mk' fiamsen/ Mack 4ffdf/Yf)" i a a 7 W L a AM". H\J,

F 3 J) ar mmflm United States Patent SHELL HIGH TRIMMING ATTACHMENT Robert J. Mack, Plainview, Minn.

Application July 21, 1952, Serial No. 300,048

5 Claims. (Cl. 29-67) This invention relates to the art of printing. More particularly this invention relates to the art of composing and laying out type and display matter in printing establishments. The invention provides a device for attachment to a standard printers material-trimming saw whereby such standard saw may be converted to trim a slug or piece of hand set type to the proper height for mounting in space which has been routed or cut out of a type high or shell high stereotype cast.

The following is given as one illustrative example of a situation where the present invention has great utility However, it oftentimes occurs that the advertiserwants 2,773,29 Patented Dec. 11, 1956 printer to accept a job requiring extensive changes in a stereotype.

By use of the attachment of the present invention, on the other hand, the time-consuming operation above described can be eliminated, and a printers saw (such as will be found in almost all printing shops) may be adapted to prepare type or display matter for use in making corrections of the above mentioned kinds, Without any necessity of mortising and patching the base, etc.

In brief, the device of the present invention enables a printer, when setting corrective lines, or lines to be placed on an angle, etc., to trim the face from a slug of type to any thickness to suit the base heights being used. The slug, when stripped, can be placed in a depression, which may be easily routed out at the proper point in the stereotype. My attachment also has great utility in composing original composition where display matter, angle lines or angle boxes are desired. The trimmed slug is secured to the stereotype or base at proper height by cement or double-coated pressure-sensitive tape.

By use of the device of this invention a small printer can easily meet the demands of modern advertisers without increasing composing room costs to a point where it .is unprofitable for him to take on advertising or job composition where corrections of the above kinds are requested. The device of the present invention enables the small printer to save many hours of time in the composition of copy requiring angled cuts, or angle boxes, or corrections in a stereotype. The trimming attachment of the present invention provides means for trimming I composition very accurately and safely to the precise some change to be made in the advertisement (either to adapt the advertisement for some new use or, for example, to correct a price shown in the ad, etc.). This latter, for example, occurs quite frequently in view of the fact that the mats are normally prepared considerably in advance of the time when the advertisement will actually be run, so that price changes, etc. may intervene before the advertisement is actually published. Additionally, advertisers frequently request that certain portions of type or display matter be set at odd angles in the advertisement.

Such requests, and other similar requirements by ador arrange for it to be done at some larger or more specialized establishment.

The difiiculty experienced by the printer arose from the fact that, in order to revise the copy to conform 'to the way it was wanted it Was necessary for him to mortise into the base and remove therefrom the portion of the advertisement which was to be deleted. In many cases it Was necessary to cut through a decorative border of some sort around the copy to get at the portion of the ad to be changed. After the base had been mortised it was then necessary for the printer to go through the time-consuming operation of preparing a new, corrected piece of type and fitting the same properly within the portion of the stereotype which had been cutaway in the mortising operation, again after which it was further necessary to replace any portion of the decorative border which might have been damaged in the mortising operation. The sum efiort expended on such time-consuming details often made it entirely unprofitable for the height required for insertion in the base of a stereotype.

The foregoing outline of the objects and advantages of this invention will be enlarged and expanded as this description proceeds, and further applications and points of utility in the invention will be discussed.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, in each figure of which the same reference characters are used to designate the same or similar parts:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the attachment of this invention mounted upon a printers material-trimming saw, the saw having out about half-way through a slug of type being trimmed.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the attachment of this invention mounted on the same saw.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view principally of my attachment, but also showing certain elements of the saw on which it is mounted.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view principally of my attachment, but also showing certain elements of the saw on which it is mounted.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, and particularly referring to Figure 1, reference character 3 indicates generally the saw Work-table. This table is divided into two parts 4a and 4b, between which parts circular saw blade 5 is mounted, said saw blade being driven by a suitable power unit, not shown. Table 3 is maintained at an appropriate distance from the floor by supports 6. Side 4a of table 3 is laid on track 7 and 7a whereby said side of the table may be advanced (as shown in Figure 1) or retracted (as shown in Figure 2) to bring the slug of type 8 being trimmed into or out of contact with blade 5. Mounted at an edge of side 4a of table 3, adjacent support 9, is micrometer gaugefrarne 10, provided with bar 11 which (particularly as shown in Figure 2) is divided into pica and point measuring units. Also included in gauge frame 10 is element 12 slidably mounted on threaded spindle 13. Said element 12 may be moved along said spindle 13, either toward or away from side 4b of table 3, when a lock mechanism forming part of said element 12 is disengaged from spindle 13 by operation of member 14. Finger 15, provided with vertical flange 16 is afiixed to slidable element 12 in such position that said finger will overlie portion 4a of table 3. Edge 17 of finger 15 comprises a' straight-edge against which, in normaluse ofthe saw without my attachment, the material to be cut is hanlged. The pica and point measuring units on bar 11 commence at a line extending longitudinally of table 3 through saw blade so that the transverse distance between saw blade 5 and straight edge 17 on finger may be determined by the measuring units on bar 11, In use of the saw with my attachment, finger 15 is normally set and locked at an indicated measurement of 35 pieas on bar 11.

It will be noted that saw blade 5 isfshielded by guard 18, to provide for safe operation of the machine. Switch 1 9. is for control of the machine, i. e. putting it into or out of operation. I i V Reference character 21) indicates generally a clamp by means of which the attachment of this invention is held in position on the material-trimr'ning'saw. That elarnp will be described in more detail after: the constructionof my attachment has been set forth, as immediately follows.

Referring now particularly to Figures 3 and 4 in the drawing, the attachment of this invention comprises, first, a flat base 21, conveniently rectangularin shape. Said base member, and the other elements in my attachment, as hereinafter described, may be fabricated, from any material sufliciently durable and sturdy to withstand the rough usage to which the attachmentis likely to be put in use. I have, in actual practice, fabricated my. attachment from steel. Alignment bar 22, is mounted on and affixed to the upper surface of base 21 along edge 23 thereof. Said bar 22 extends parallel to said edge 23. and is indented therefrom a fraction of an inch. Bar 22 may be permanently mounted on base 21 (as by welding) or may be removably attached thereto, as by machine screws passing through said bar into base 21 In use of my attachment, the type face on the slug which is to be trimmed is butted against bar 22 and there held in the manner hereinafter described. Bar 22 should be set in from edge 23 sufiiciently far so that the typeslug 8 may be securely held. On the other hand, said bar should not be set in so far from edge 23, that type slug 8, when butted against it, cannot be trimmed to the proper height. I have found it preferable to set bar 2 2 in from edge 23 about /s of an inch. Vertical alignment pins 24 and 24a are set in the two end portions of bar 22, and vertical male threaded connector 25 is a ix d to base 21 intermediate of said pins. Top clamp member 26 is located over base 21. Edge 27 of said clamp member 26 is provided with downwardly extending flange 28 Said flange may be integral with clamp 2.6 r. mo e. p e er b it m y comprise a s p ra e. st affixed to edge 27by machine screws 29, 29a and 29b rhe m ans. It s p efe ab at an 2t be s p te and. Ensemble m. l m 26 so tha it may be replaeed should 'it become damaged or worn during use of the ta hm n "fl w e o s cl m 26 adjaeent flange 28, are provided with. apertures 30 and 30,which apertures are so located that they will register With pins'24 and 24a when clamp 26 is superposed on base 21 with flange 28 and edge 23 in opposed relation. Said apertures 30 and 343a are of a size to permit a free but close passage of pins 24 and 24a. Clamp 26 is also provided with: aperture 31, through which. extends the, shank of clamp tightening member32. Said aperture 31. and member 32 are located, on clamp 26, so that threaded bore 33 in the shank of member 32 will register with threaded connector 25 when clamp, 26 is placed over base 21 in alignment therewith, as above set forth. Washer 34, may be inserted between the shoulder of member 32 and the topsurface of clamp 26. Demountable flange or Washer 35 is provided on the shank of member 32 adjacent the bottom surface of clamp 26', so that member '32 will not lift out of aperture 31 in clamp 26. Member 32 .is freely rotatable in aperture 31 by means of wheel 36, and by engagement of connector 25 with bore 33 and rotation of said wheel, clamp member 26 may be raised or lowered in respect to base 21. During such operation pins 24 and 24a, passing through apertures 30 and 30a, serve to maintain flange 28 and edge 23 in parallel relation. As clamp 26 is lowered, connector 25 threads upwardly into bore 33, and type slug 8 is firmly held between flange 28 and base 21.

Adjustment screw 37, threaded through aperture 37a in clamp 26, is included to provide means whereby clamp 26 may be kept on a horizontal plane while it is being brought into clamping position by rotation of wheel 36. It occasionally happens, when clamp 26 is being lowcred, that it will become tilted from its horizontal plane, whereupon the threaded connection between connector 25 and 33 may become jammed so that clamp 26 cannot be further lowered. Should this happen, it can be effectively corrected by lowering adjustment screw 37 so that its lower end will bear on base 21, and thus, when further adjusted, will force clamp 26 back on an even keel and free it to be lowered into clamping position. It should be understood, however, that adjustment screw 37 is merely a convenience, in view of the fact that clamp 26 can, in most cases, be equally Well set back on its horizontal plane merely by lifting clamp 26 at its low edge.

Mounted on base 21, along the edge portion thereof opposed to edge 23, is block member 38, through which is threaded attachment holding screw 39. Also threaded into said block 38 are Allen screws 40 and 41. Screw 40 is provided to adjust for the desired thickness of the slug to be trimmed. Screw 41, which butts against bar 11, is provided so that, when my attachment is in working position, it may be aligned so that edge 23 will lie at an exact right angle to the axis about which saw blade 5 rotates. When Allen screws 40 and 41 are properly adjusted, they are locked in correct position by nuts 42 and 43 mounted upon them, if my attachment is removed from one material-trimming saw to another, it is advisable to re-check Allen screws 40 and 41 to determine if they need resetting because of differences on the second machine. Also,'after saw blade 5 has become dulled from use, it is advisable to reset Allen screw 40, to adjust for the thinner out which wouldbe taken by the dulled blade. After Allen screws 40 and 41 are properly set and my attachment is placed with said screws in abuttment against straight-edge 17 and bar 11, attachment holding screw 39, as provided on its end with knob 44, is tightened. Said knob overhangs flange 16 on finger 15, so that myattachrnent will be drawn over to be held securely in proper position when said screw 39 is tightened. Base 21 is rrqylsle wi h p ie a 45 o r ximat ly equal, th h oies n o Al e S r After my attachment has been plaeed onthe materialtritnming saw in position against straight-edge. l'l'and b ll; 11, it is clamped in that position by worlgholding clamp. 2Q, hereinabove mentioned. Said clamp comprises shaft46, and angle locking block 47 extending longitudinally of sidev 4 1 of table 3. Said shaft 46 is so geared and slidably mounted in housing 48 that, by operation of lever 49, it may be advanced to bear against and hold my attachment in proper position.

After the attachment has been clamped in position, slug of type 8, or other object to be trimmed, is butted against bar 22 and top clamp member 26 is lowered and tightened. As an accessory to my attachment, I provide bar 5.0. which is of the same height as base 21. Bar SQ may be laid under the projecting edge portion of slug 8-to insure that, that slug extends perfectly horizontally out from my attachment. After slug 8 is properly held ithin my aahment and q rat saw n p rat o s im. ar. 5.0- is t ved. r. f. a er i r nsed w th its hd'okportion 51 in position about the edge of side 4b of table 3, it will remain in that position and remain free of saw blade when side 4a of table 3 is advanced, in the manner heretofore described.

As side 4a of table 3 is advanced, slug 8 will be brought into contact with blade 5 and will be trimmed off to the selected height. Slug 8 may be trimmed to any desired height by adjustment of Allen screw 40. The dimensions of my attachment (which, it should be noted, are in no way critical), will be known by the user and the proper adjustment for the desired height of the slug to be trimmed can be quickly and easily calculated by subtracting the overall length of my attachment from the reading on bar 11.

It should, of course, be clearly understood that the particular elements referred to in the description given above could be changed without departing from the inventive concept hereof, and that, in many cases, mechanical equivalents of the particular elements disclosed, could be substituted. Such possible changes in the form, detail, arrangement and/ or proportions of my attachment will not constitute a departure from my inventive concept. It should further be understood that the particular material-trimming saw herein described constitutes only one type or brand of such saw sold on the market today, and that there are numerous other saws intended for the same purpose (but made by different manufacturers) wherein there is a different arrangement of parts. However, irrespective of the minor differences among such saws, my attachment is suitable and adapted for use on all or substantially all of them.

I claim:

1. In a printers material-trimming saw comprising a worktable, a driven saw blade, a workholding clamp and a gauge frame including a measuring bar and a finger; an attachment for holding a slug of type, whereby said slug may be accurately trimmed in height by said saw blade; said attachment comprising a base provided with a plurality of adjustable screw members extending outwardly from said base on a plane parallel thereto, a top clamp member mounted over said base for vise-like cooperation therewith, and means for advancing and retracting said top clamp member toward and away from said base whereby portions of said base and clamp member will provide opposed gripping jaws; said base and top clamp member being mounted on said worktable with one of said adjustable screw members in abuttment against said measuring bar, a second of said adjustable screw members in abuttment against said finger, and said gripping jaws extending at right angles to the axis of rotation of said driven saw blade, said attachment being provided with a member for holding said attachment against said finger, said attachment being maintained in position on said worktable by said workholding clamp.

2. In a printers material-trimming saw comprising a worktable, a driven saw blade, a workholding clamp and a gauge frame including a measuring bar and a finger, an attachment for holding a slug of type whereby said slug may be accurately trimmed in height by said saw blade;

said attachment comprising a base including a jaw portion, a top clamp member likewise including a jaw portion mounted over said base, and means for bringing said top clamp member toward said base for gripping action by said jaw portions, said base and top clamp member being mounted on said worktable with adjoining edges of said base lying adjacent said bar and said finger respectively, said adjoining edges of said base being provided with elements extending outwardly beyond said edges, said elements being adjustable to permit the lengthening or shortening of the distance by which said elements extend outwardly beyond said edges.

3. An attachment for a printers material-trimming saw comprising a base including a jaw portion, a top clamp member likewise including a jaw portion mounted over said base, means for bringing said top clamp member toward said base for gripping action by said jaw portions, a block member afiixed upon said base, said block member being provided with elements extending at substantially right angles to each other parallel to the plane of said base, said elements being adjustable to extend varying distances outwardly beyond adjoining edges of said base.

4. An attachment for a printers material-trimming saw comprising a base including a jaw portion, a top clamp member likewise including a jaw portion mounted over said base, and means for bringing said top clamp member toward said base for gripping action by said jaw portions, said attachment being provided with an element extending at a right angle to the length of said jaw portions, and a second similar element extending at a right angle to said first element, each of said elements extending parallel to the plane of said base and being adjustable to extend varying distances outwardly beyond edges of said base.

5. An attachment for a printers material-trimming saw comprising a base including a jaw portion, a top clamp member likewise including a jaw portion mounted over said base, and means for bringing said top clamp member toward said base for gripping action by said jaw portions, adjoining edges of said base being provided with elements extending outwardly beyond said edges, said elements being adjustable to permit the lengthen-ing or shortening of the distance by which said elements extend outwardly beyond said edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 879,348 Winter Feb. 18, 1908 986,485 Miller Mar. 14, 1911 1,366,500 Schokmiller Jan. 25, 1921 1,370,624 Banzett Mar. 8, 1921 1,662,638 Curle Mar. 13, 1928 1,954,548 Thrasher Apr. 10, 1934 2,345,161 Thomason Mar. 28, 1944 

